The last time I had a potassium permanganate problem, I looked like I'd voted in a mid-East election. My fingertips were purple when some of the dust got on them. For skin, I found out that it is best to just let the deep purple color wear off, kind of like letting a tattoo age into oblivion.

This time, it was my water processing system that had an issue. There is a one gallon overflow bottle on the powdered potassium permanganate tank. After three years of use, it finally filled up and overflowed onto the basement floor. Not much, maybe 1-2 ounces of liquid spread over a few feet. Unfortunately, it makes the concrete floor look like a murder crime scene.

I did a bunch of reading on the Internet about how to clean it up, but I don't trust anything I read. Most of the suggestions look like major accidents waiting to happen -- like using peroxide and muriatic acid. Or from the prepper sites, who suggest using potassium permanganate with anti-freeze to start a really big and instant hot fire to get rid of everything local!

I'm still pretty young when compared to friends like Dave D. I need to live a whole lot longer, just to finish half of the projects I've recently started.

Unfortunately, it makes the concrete floor look like a murder crime scene.

This mess is in my basement.

Any safe suggestions?

First, don't speak to the police without me present.

Second, soak it up with a rag, burn the rag, and then treat the area with bleach. A small amount of muriatic acid is a good idea, too. Anything to eliminate the genetic materials which can be used as evidence is a key step to take here.

Third, make sure the source of that stain is thoroughly disposed of in an area where it won't be found again. Don't use your pond as a hiding place - that's one of the first places they'll look.

Fourth, speak to no one about this. It needs to remain strictly between you and me as it is now. If anyone finds out, suspicions will arise and you may find yourself the subject of unwanted inquiry.

Finally, send the retainer check to my office immediately so we can protect the confidentiality of this communication.

Dang! This is just one more good reason to have Pond Boss friends. Thanks for the advice.

I just started some venison pastrami and some jerky. Will that do in place of the retainer check?

My son will be returning our granddaughter to school on Sunday. Suggest a drop point somewhere between Fairmont and your farm. With your advice above, I'll probably use one of your ponds for the remaining evidence. Nobody would think of looking there! Maybe I'll split it between your ponds and Sunil's pond.

P.S. Dwain will be here at sun-up tomorrow morning to try and help thin our venison herds. I called the DNR on Friday to ask if I was reading the rules right. Things have changed recently. Did you know that each family member can tag 12 deer this season in our counties? I've already got about 90 lbs., of de-boned meat in the freezer, so I don't need anymore. We've had herds of 4, 8, and 9 roaming the property nearly everyday recently. All are antlerless. I may take a few more to donate to Hunters for the Hungry.

Did the concrete have a sealer applied after finishing, or was it left natural? If it wasn't sealed, it's still porous to a degree and will tend to absorb what's spilled on it, making cleanup very troublesome.

I am guessing that muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid) will do the stick since it will also dissolve the concrete. Simply remove the remaining sand and gravel after the application and the stain will go with it.

Otherwise, go get some of that nifty epoxy concrete "paint" people use in garages and give the area a nice, beautiful, impenetrable seal coat. No more stains, easy to clean. My dad did his entire garage, and it really looks nice. Oil just rolls right off of it.

Muriatic acid will clean concrete but you must dilute it( usually 1 part to 4 parts water), you do not want it to lay on the surface long. If you have a really smooth surface you should be able to get nearly all of the stain out without much work. Make sure you do not use any metal containers for the brick acid.

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Two ponds, 13 and 15 acres on the Mattaponi River.

I know this is an old thread about trying to remove potassium permanganate stains from concrete. Since potassium permanganate has so many uses related to water, including use with large indoor fish tanks, and aquaponics, I figured somebody else must have done what I did.

I want to thank Bill Cody for offering to provide me with industrial strength hydrogen peroxide, when I could only get in the 3% drugstore strength.

I'd kind of forgotten about the problem until last week when I got lights re-installed in that corner of the basement. (I've been slowly replacing or reworking nearly all of the plumbing and electrical in the house for the last 5 years, or so.)

Anyway, I was in a locally owned hardware store yesterday looking at concrete cleaner, including muriatic acid -- which I didn't want to use. When a guy older than me asked if I needed some assistance I told him my issue with the potassium permanganate stains on my concrete basement floor.

He talked me out of buying anything from their store for this purpose (I did buy $65 worth of other stuff). Instead, he said make a 50%/50% mix of grocery-store white vinegar and drugstore hydrogen peroxide. He told me to pour it on the stains and evenly mix over the statin with a brush or sponge.

I could hardly believe it. It worked like magic. I did have to do it a second time where the potassium permanganate was actually built up. But, except for a few small spots, that part of the floor looks like nothing ever happened. (Todd -- I won't need your services!)